Help wanted in Open Data on XBRL session: If you are familiar with repositories of XBRL instance documents accessible to the public, you are more than welcomed. Example: www.centraledesbilans.be for annual accounts in Belgium.

5. AOB.

The European Parliament after a very long process of negotiation with the European Council and with the European Commission has adopted today the 12 of June 2013, the final texts for both the Accountancy and Transparency directives.

(21a) A harmonised electronic format for reporting would be very beneficial for issuers, investors and competent authorities, since it would make reporting easier and facilitate accessibility, analysis and comparability of annual financial reports. Therefore, preparation of annual financial reports in a single electronic reporting format should be mandatory with effect from 1 January 2020, provided that a cost benefit analysis has been undertaken by ESMA. ESMA should develop draft regulatory standards for adoption by the Commission, to specify the electronic reporting format, with due reference to current and future technological options, such as eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL). ESMA, when preparing the draft regulatory technical standards, should conduct open public consultations for all stakeholders concerned, make a thorough assessment of the potential impacts of the adoption of the different technological options, and conduct appropriate tests in Member States on which it should report to the Commission when it submits the draft regulatory technical standards. In developing the draft regulatory technical standards on the formats to be applied to banks and financial intermediaries and to insurance companies, ESMA should cooperate regularly and closely with the EBA and the EIOPA, in order to take into account the peculiarities of these sectors, ensuring cross-sectoral consistency of work and reaching joint positions. The European Parliament and the Council should be able to object to the regulatory technical standards in line with Article 13(3) of the ESMA Regulation, in which case these standards shall not enter into force.”

The Member of European Parliament Wolf Klinz, who drafted the opinion from the Economic Affairs Committee of the EP, said “I am very happy that the transparency and accounting directives voted today aim at cutting the red-type for SMEs by 25%, but also – following our proposal – a single electronic reporting format across the EU such as XBRL will become mandatory for the listed companies in Europe“.

Gilles Maguet, General Secretary, XBRL Europe stated: “We can say that a significant threshold has been crossed in Europe in the XBRL European adoption. No doubt that after the Banking and the Insurance XBRL sectors this new XBRL sector (of the listed companies) in Europe will carry in a new step in the supervision and transparency process in Europe and incidentally a huge amount of work for our community. It will even have an impact on the non listed companies sector (the Business register sector). We can thank the deep commitment of many in that respect, but first the one from the MEPs Wolf Klinz, Alexandra Thein, Sharon Bowles and others without forgetting the patient work from our friend from the European Commission Piotr Madziar.”